Small group holidays

Travelling with a group of strangers may sound slightly daunting. However, when you consider that small group adventure holidays are designed for people like you, then the chances are you’re going to find several friends you haven’t met yet (as well as a whole lot of adventures besides). Wild camping and safari in Botswana, northern lights and waterfalls in Iceland, glaciers and guanacos in Patagonia, or dunes and desert in Morocco: if you don’t want to go alone then go with a like-minded group. Accompanying you and your new-found band of adventurers on our small group trips will be a fantastic guide – often local – and always on hand to provide reassurance. It’s their retelling of the stories behind the settings that can turn your adventures into epics.

Sunsets over pyramids, being invited in for tea on the Silk Road, trying street food in Rajasthan – some cultural experiences are better when they’re shared. Our small group cultural holidays reveal authentic local culture – not a version of it put on for tourists. Best of all, by travelling with a group of like-minded culture vultures from all over the world, you get unique context from other travellers, too. We know that a country’s culture cannot be grasped with quick a read-through of an online guide. Our small group cultural tours benefit from the insights from passionate local guides. They can be your advisor when you’re browsing artisanal crafts, your translator when you’re perusing food stalls and your storyteller round the campfire.

Our small group walking holidays are all about sharing the experience. Whether you come to that experience solo, as a family, or with a partner or friend, you will make a heap more connections as soon as you share that first (and usually carb-loaded) group meal. With your new-found companions you’ll have ready-made camaraderie for the hills and rain, and a group to share in the celebrations of sunsets and sundowners. Our small groups can comprise two to 24 hikers, though the average is 12.

Going in a small group is great for big trekking experiences like the Inca Trail, which are hard to organise for yourself, but they’re not just for trekking experts. We have everything from gentle rambles up (and gentle rambles down) – and you can focus on the walking, whilst we organise the meals and accommodation, and the wayfinding is up to your guide. By walking with a group in an area that you perhaps wouldn’t have visited under your own steam, you can spread tourism money to lesser-visited rural areas, and benefit nature and communities around the world.

Cycling is easier and more fun when it’s done in a peloton, but you don’t need to be a road-skimming racer to take part in our fun, sociable small group cycling holidays. We have well over 100 small group cycling tours, everywhere from Kerala to Costa Rica, Cuba to Croatia. We organise the logistics – that’s meals, accommodation and route, and there will always be someone leading the way – no stopping at the side of the track to debate which way to go, or accidentally climbing the wrong hill. If you go in a small group you’ll usually be shadowed by a support van, which holds spare bikes, can store your luggage to cut down on panniers, provides help with any repairs, and promises the chance of a lift should you fancy a break from the saddle during your break in a saddle.

By cycling you can cover lots of ground and spread tourism custom to a wider and lesser travelled rural area. By keeping that cycling group small you can patronise smaller restaurants and accommodation, supporting smaller businesses as you go.

You like your bike, but you also like to hike – or raft, or kayak, or enjoy a morning yoga session: we know our travellers have lots of strings to their bows. There are parts of the world that are great for exploring by bike, but they also boast coast that are a kayaking playground – think Costa Rica or divine for divers – think South Africa. And places that invite a break from the trail because the setting is just too beautiful to forgo that wild swim – think Montenegro’s waterfalls, rivers and lakes. For the indecisive, or the multi-talented, or those who want to challenge a variety of muscle groups, we present our multi activity small group holidays.

Try wine tasting in vine country, where you cycle from cave to cave and quinta to quinta, packing your panniers with bottles and comparing tasting notes with your companions. Or sample archaeology in Greece, walking the routes between ancient sites that have been trodden for millennia, and swapping reading recommendations on the way.

Our special interest small group trips bring you together in celebration of your interests with likeminded individuals. Get new insights into the things you love, and come away even more interested! These special interest tours connect you with local experts – master craftspeople, experienced chefs, dedicated historians – to bring your passions to life and keep local knowledge alive.